Golden State Warriors veteran forward Draymond Green has carved a reputation for his outspoken and fierce style on and off the court. And that didn’t stop when he called out ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, who also had a reputation for his bold takes.

Green, on his podcast, The Draymond Green Show, responded on Tuesday to Smith’s recent attacks on Philadelphia Sixers new signing Jaylen Brown.

“I’ve had my words with Stephen A.,” Green said on his show. “Listen, he’s great at what he does. I think, you know, he’s arguably the best at what he does. Right. And that’s your lane. … But I also think where the line gets blurred and, like, in a negative way for journalists is he throws out the journalist tag all the time. I am actually a journalist.”

“And so you say all of these things on television,” he continued. “Jaylen Brown has been very outspoken about it. The anonymous sources and all of these things. … which almost makes people, especially athletes, not respect journalists because you’re throwing out the journalist tag.“

This won’t be the first time Draymond Green and Smith have had a falling out. When Stephen A. became involved in a public dispute with LeBron James over comments regarding Bronny James, Green publicly sided with his longtime friend. Green accused Smith of hypocrisy, saying: “I was a little baffled by Stephen A. saying that he would’ve swung on Bron…”

Stephen A. Smith, meanwhile, has consistently maintained that his job is to analyze and criticize actions regardless of personal relationships.

Draymond Green on the Jaylen Brown Criticism

Following Brown’s trade from Boston to Philadelphia, league sources described Brown as someone who believes he’s the smartest person in the room. On his show, Colin Cowherd said NBA sources told him that “Jaylen Brown thinks he’s the smartest guy in every room.” Green responded to that criticism on his show on Tuesday.

“I’m just like all of a sudden a guy being smart is an issue. Like, by the way, I think I’m pretty smart individual. I think I got a pretty decent head on my shoulders. Jaylen Brown is brilliant. I don’t pretend to be that smart. I don’t want anybody to think I think I’m that smart, but he is like he actually is that smart.”

The beef between Stephen A. Smith and Brown got heated after Smith revealed he had received an anonymous text message from someone he described as a respected NBA voice criticizing Brown’s personality and attitude. Rather than identifying the source, Smith mentioned the message on air as part of his analysis. Brown took issue not only with the criticism itself but with Smith’s reliance on anonymous sourcing, labeling him “the face of clickbait media.”

Despite his ongoing disagreements with Brown on other topics, Stephen A. Smith pushed back, calling the criticism “utterly ridiculous.” He argued that regardless of any personality debates, Brown had already proven himself as an elite NBA player.